CRI Appreciation Day

Christian Resources International (CRI) will sponsor a Volunteer Appreciation Cookout and Tour Day Oct. 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its headquarters at 200 Free St., Fowlerville, Mich.

The organization is offering an invitation to those in the Ottawa County area who donated their Bibles and other books through the efforts of the Ottawa County Church Women United. The local group recently took more than 1,300 pounds of donations to be sent to areas of the country and world without access to the reading materials.

For more information or to discuss carpooling, call Karen Kruse at 419-265-4584.

FASD Day observedLocal officials, citizens and children gathered on the Ottawa County Courthouse lawn Sept. 9 in observance of “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Day” in Ottawa County.

Noting the gravity of FASD and the impact it has on affected children and their families, Ottawa County Commissioner and Family and Children First Secretary Jim Sass presented a proclamation to Jennifer Zelms, president of the Ottawa County Board of Developmental Disabilities. The ninth day of the ninth month was chosen as a reminder to women to abstain from alcohol during their nine months of pregnancy.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), each year, nearly 40,000 children are born with mental, behavioral and physical challenges resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol. These children are born affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which according to the U.S. Surgeon General is the leading known cause of preventable mental and birth defects.

For more information about FASD, visit Ohio’s FASD initiative website at www.notasingledrop.org or contact Melinda Slusser, OCBDD superintendent at 419-898-0400.